Where the Legend Began
by MissMangaDoll
Summary: Long ago when Madara and Hashirama were just children, they met a young girl named Ayame at the lake. The three becomes close friends and grows a bond. However, those bonds may not last when the boys finds out that she is from a forgotten clan. What will they do? And what journey awaits for Ayame? (MadaraxOC) (Rated M for language, sexual themes and abuse in later chapter.)
1. Prologue

**Author: Hey guys! I told you I'd be back muahahaha!~ X3 I apologize for not updating any sooner, there had been a lot of issues to take care of. It took me away from spending time writing the story T^T But hey! At least I came back! :3 I do NOT own Naruto. I wish I did, but I don't. So meh. I do own my OC and the idea of a clan.**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Long before ninjas gained powers of jutsus, they fought endless wars between different clans with brute force. The main reason why the war started was for more power and control. The war continues for so long, that peace seemed nothing more than a pure fantasy. One night the moon shined so brightly and so beautifully that it would cover an entire village. On that night, a lovely Queen was giving birth to an heir. However, the labor was very fatal due to the Queen's illness.

Just as things were looking very grim, the beam of the full moon shined on the dying Queen as she gave birth to a beautiful princess. As she finished the labor, her illness miraculously disappeared. It was all thanks to the magic of the moon, but some say that it was all thanks to the baby princess. Indeed her beauty is to behold but her appearance was unusual.

While the Emperor and the Queen both have dark hair and eyes, the princess had white hair and beautiful silver eyes. Her skin were as pale as the moon, yet her lips were the full color of pale rose. There was a conspiracy that the Queen may had an affair with another man, but she was known to be completely faithful to her husband. It was concluded that the baby princess was a special gift from the moon itself.

The Emperor and the Queen gave the child a beautiful name, a name that symbolize and mean the moon. Her name was Princess Tsukiyo.

Like most princesses, Tsukiyo grew up in a luxurious temple. And, of course, she was raised to act like a princess as well, meaning that she must behave like she was higher than anyone. But regardless to her status, she has learned the reality of the world such as slavery and hardships. She even learned about the harsh reality of war. It broke her heart to know such knowledge in an early age. While most children wanted to play and pay no mind to the real world, Tsukiyo wanted nothing more than for war to end. However, seeing how war continues to wage on, even she loses hope for peace. Indeed, she was a very strange child, but her heart was always at the right place.

As the princess grew older, she realized that she was neither like any other people nor her parents. It made Tsukiyo very sad and alone. She didn't know anybody who felt the same. Those who knew of her kept their distance from her, for they were afraid of strange new things. Princess Tsukiyo, though grief at the thought of loneliness, respected their feelings and never showed herself in public.

One day her father came back from an intense battle with fatal wounds. The doctors did everything they could to stop the bleeding, but the wounds were too deep to save the Emperor.

Just when everyone was mourning and saying their good bye to their Emperor, Princess Tsukiyo aided to his and wept on his chest where the wound was. Out of nowhere, she began to sing a sweet lullaby to soothe the agony of his journey to the afterlife. That is when a miracle was born.

_"__Moonlight hear me cry  
>Hear me plea with sorrow<br>Ease my pain of cry  
>Let me smile<br>So I can shine with glee and love  
>Return the light that once was mine"<em>

Tsukiyo's tears shined brightly from the moon and it healed her father's wounds. It was as if he was never scarred from a battle. The Emperor was a new man, and Tsukiyo was the new savior.

Princess Tsukiyo was the first healer and mother of magic.

The loneliness and sadness lingered in the princess's heart no more. People had grown to love her. She was pleased that she had discovered the power to help people. She planned to use this gifted power to end the wars once and for all. Peace was slowly becoming a reality than a fantasy. Hope was very close, and she would grasp it when she finally reached for it.

Unfortunately her father had other plans to bring peace to this world. He would use his daughter's power to win the war and rule the world one day.

Princess Tsukiyo pleaded her father to reconsider the plan, but he was too consumed with greed and power. Because of Tsukiyo's defiance, he locked her within a sacred shrine and he would not release her until she agrees to bid her father's will. Tsukiyo wept for days inside the shrine. Her tears filled the room that soon became a pool. Even then, she still continued to cry for the sadness and loneliness that returned to her heart.

After such a long time being trapped in the shrine, she was released by another princess named Kaguya Ootsutski. She heard Tsukiyo's cries and released her. Like Tsukiyo, Kaguya also had incredible powers. However, she had gained powers from eating a fruit from the God tree. Tsukiyo learned that Kaguya had the same dream, to end the war and bring peace.

The two princess decided to work together to stop the war and soon they succeeded. Their dreams were finally coming true.

Kaguya grew to love Tsukiyo so much, that she soon claimed her as a daughter. She introduced her two sons, Hagoromo and Haruma Ootsutski. She suggested that she should marry one of her sons to become a happy family, but Tsukiyo kindly refused the offer. It was true that the two brothers were incredibly powerful and handsome, but she only viewed them as close friends. While she did loved Kaguya in return, she noticed a horrible change in her beloved friend.

Kaguya Ootsutski had grown hungry for more power. People had grown to fear her than love her. They even began to call her a demon. Tsukiyo would reason with her to ease her hunger for power. Tsukiyo's act of love and kindness had grown to love and even worship her so much, Kaguya became jealous of her. Because of that jealousy, the bonds had broken and the two became bitter rivals, leaving Tsukiyo heartbroken once again.

After some time of conflict, before Kaguya was going to kill Tsukiyo, Haruma and Hagoromo stopped their mother and fought the ten tail beast called Juubi. After a long difficult battle, Kaguya Ootsutski was sealed away with a strong sealing jutsu.

Tsukiyo and the Ootsutski men wondered what they were going to do with Juubi. Hagoromo suggested splitting the beast into nine tailed beasts and sealing Juubi to the moon. However, they knew that the seal might not be strong enough to hold Juubi. So they split the beast in two and sealed one to the moon, and the other half inside a magical box that contained evil and darkness. She prayed to the moon for a guardian of the box. The moon answered her by giving her a daughter named Hikari, symbolizing the light that shines through darkness.

Hikari was born from the stars, thanks to the power of the moon. Hikari was a well known beauty from all over the country. Even the sons of Hagoromo, Ashura and Indra, noticed Hikari's beauty. Indra was the eldest son and was considered a skilled fighter and strategist, while Ashura was the youngest and weaker than his brother and only manages to succeed battles with only help from others. Hikari enjoyed the company of Ashura and Indra, even though they sometimes competed to win her affection. She valued them so much as close friends.

Her long wavy raven hair flowed graciously down below her waist and was decorated in beads of lights that looked as if someone was staring into the night sky. Like her mother, her eyes were a beautiful shade of silver and her skin pale as the moon. Her lips were full and colorful that was made to be kissed.

Tsukiyo's daughter accepted the task to guard the box that Juubi dwelled within. Her mother explained that it contained pure darkness and it must never be opened.

Like most children, curiosity got the best of her and opened the box to see what was inside. Because the box was opened, darkness escaped from the box and corrupted mankind's heart. Hikari panicked of what she had done. She had caused another war. She even caused Indra's heart to be corrupted by darkness.

Indra had become jealous and outraged that his father had chosen his younger brother to carry on the dream of peace for the world. He did not accept that and it sickened him to the core, but he was truly determined to take Hikari as his wife no matter what the cause.

Having the guilt of her release of darkness, she refused Indra's proposal in marriage. Believing that she was in love with Ashura, his anger and jealousy had risen to the point where he wanted his younger brother dead at his feet.

The battle raged on, and Hikari could no longer bear the burden of guilt, so she begged Indra to spare his brother and end the battle. To make her happy, he would spare Ashura if she would agree to marry him. To make amends, she agreed and married Indra. But even marriage didn't bury his hatred toward Ashura, leading him to continue the battle. He would do anything to claim his father's will. Hikari could do nothing but watch as the two brothers clashed one another.

Soon the two brothers became nothing more than chakras that lingered to their descendants.

Hikari cried to her mother and pleaded to be sealed inside the box with Juubi, so she could be sure that no more darkness shall leak into the world. Tsukiyo reluctantly agreed and sealed her daughter inside the box and locked it away underneath the shrine that her mother were once locked away.

Tsukiyo had enough dealing with her heartache, so she decided to leave this world and become one with the moon. However, she still had hope for humanity, so she left her chakra behind for her descendants of Tsukiyo to carry on her will of peace. When she left, she sang the lullaby that she sang to her father when she was upset.

That…was how the Tsukiyo clan was formed.

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><p><strong>Author: So I really hope you enjoyed the prologue and I hope that it explained a lot about the Tsukiyo clan. I'm glad that I came back to write my story and I hope you will follow along the next chapters. If there are any mistakes, please feel free to comment it. I will take any criticism as long as it is professional. Any rude comments will be simply ignored. I'll keep posting more chapters as soon as possible. Until then, stay tuned and stay safe folks! ^.^<strong>


	2. Chapter One -Fate

**Author: Hey guys! Sorry for the BIG delay, but I had some studying to do and other projects to do ^^; but on the brighter note! This chapter is pretty long, so it should be good! Note that I won't do long chapters for a while now, because typing everything up KILLED my fingers T_T but hey, this chapter should be interesting and whatnot! ^.^ Okay, disclaimer time! I do not own any Naruto characters, I only own my oc's and made up characters in this story. Enjoy my lovely readers! ^w^**

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><p>Chapter One – Fate<p>

The warring state is a very gruesome era. Blood is always everywhere in the battlefield. Even hometowns and villages has to suffer the effects of war such as little food, little supplies, and… little shelters to stay. A sometimes war brings death upon innocent villages who wanted nothing to do wars. Each clan would kill in order to gain power and control over lands. The worst part of war is … sometimes children are left orphaned.

Ayame Tsukiyo is one of the unfortunate children who lost her parents from war. She does not remember who destroyed the Tsukiyo clan, but she remembers the bloody cry of people that were being slaughtered by a frightening clan that she does not know. She was fortunate to escape from the massacre, but she was all alone. Ayame found an abandoned little house in the middle of a forest where she stayed ever since. For some time, she would find lost and injured children who escaped from war. They would tell her the same story of losing their parents and running away from danger. Knowing their pain, Ayame would let them stay with her. She soon decided that the house she is staying would become an orphanage and a sanctuary for children, where they can be far away from war. That was two years ago when she established that.

Now Ayame is twelve years old, but war has quickly made her into a woman. Especially since she has to take care of the younger orphans. She is the oldest among the small groups of orphans. If food is needed, then Ayame would go out and hunt for food. She would usually find berries and if she is lucky, find some wild bird. Sometimes she would go to a small village and steal a loaf of bread.

When morning arrived, Ayame starts getting ready to go look for food. She ties her long raven hair back into a low pony tail and puts on her tiny white yukata. Ayame looks at the mirror, and she can see her beautiful brown eyes very tired from all the exhaustion and anxiety. Her milk pale skin does not help her tired look. She'd compare herself as a ghostly corpse. She sighs and picks up her basket and quietly tip toes to the door, so she doesn't accidentally wake the others. Just as she reaches to the door, she halts when she hears a movement. She glance back to see a boy getting up from his bed that share with the other children.

He has short brown hair and dark chocolate eyes. The boy is also pale, but unlike Ayame, his skin looks livelier than hers. He also wears a yukata that is colored green, but he wears pants underneath it.

"I want to go too, Ayame." The boy said.

Ayame breathes out and shakes her head slightly. "Sota, you know you have to stay and protect the young ones."

Sota frowned. "Yeah, I know. But it's not fair that you have to go by yourself to look for food. Someone has to go with you!"

"Shhh!" Ayame hushed him quietly. "Don't wake the others, baka!" She hissed softly.

"Sorry…" Sota mumbled.

"And besides, you are good at using your weapons. That is why you are needed here until I get back." She smiles warmly. "You are strong after all."

The compliment made Sota's cheek turn slight pink and glance away. "My…father was a full fledged shinobi. He protected my village…it was a small place, but we still loved it…but then…" He tightens his fists as he starts to remember his dark memory. "An evil clan destroyed my home…and killed my parents."

Ayame frowns sympathetically. "Do you remember who destroyed your home?"

He growled lowly as he continues to remember. "Yeah…the Uchiha clan. I know it because of those cold blood red eyes of theirs…they are filthy demons…"

Ayame's eyes widens as she begins to remember her past. As her town was being destroyed by fire, she noticed a man had eyes that glowed blood red. It was beautiful. Yet haunting. She didn't realize that she was in a trance for a moment as Sota snapped his finger at her.

"Earth to Ayame, are you in there?"

"What?" She blinks rapidly as she comes to her senses. "Did you say something?"

"Yeah. I still want to go with you. It's not like you'll be gone all day." Sota replied.

"I know, but I still want you to stay. If you come along, who's going to watch over the kids?"

"…aren't you a kid too?" Sota asked.

Ayame knew what Sota is trying his hardest to win the argument and she can't help but laugh at his attempt. Not that it is out of cruel act, but she finds it rather adorable when Sota tries to prove his point.

"Sota, I am older than all of you."

He pouts from her reply. "You're only a year older than me, Ayame."

"A year and a half." She giggled as she corrected.

"Whatever." He huffed. "I just…don't want anything to happen to you. I already lost my parents, I don't want to lose you or the kids. I don't know what I'd do without you, Ayame."

Ayame stares at Sota for a moment. By the look of his eyes, he is frightened. She understands fear, all too well, but she must be the adult. Therefore, there is no time to sit around and live in fear. She walks back to Sota and gently places both her hands on each side of his shoulders. "Sota…I understand what you are saying, but this is not the time to worry. It's natural to be afraid…but there are important matters to do."

Sota nodded in understanding. He still doesn't like the fact Ayame has to be the only adult, but he knew that she is right. "Just…promise that you'll come back to me and the others, okay?"

Ayame smiled. "I give you my word that I will return to you with food."

Sota's expression relaxed and returns the smile. "You better, or I'll never forgive you."

She laughs quietly as she steps out the door. "I'll be back." And then she left to find food for the children.

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><p>The forest was, as usual, quiet and peaceful. Of course, looks can be very deceiving. Ayame knew that all too well. She scans the ground, so that she wouldn't step on tree barks or dried leaves. She learned some survival techniques when she began to live on her own. She even learned how to hunt wild bird and know how to fish. She would love to hunt down wild boar, but it has proven difficult to hunt due to her weight and height.<p>

After a while of wondering in the forest, she suddenly hears a wild bird calling. It seems that today is her lucky day. She slowly takes out her kunai and follows the sound the wild bird.

The bird soon stops making noise, which frustrated Ayame. So much for having a wild bird for dinner…She sighs and looks at her basket. At least it is full of fruits that she found along the way.

"…it looks like we'll be having berry soup again." Ayame said disappointedly.

As she turns back and head back home, she hears voices close by and immediately hides inside a bush. Her heart beats rapidly as she continues to listen. It doesn't sound like they are adults. Maybe two boys bickering at each other. Lost boys maybe?

Ayame swallows her own saliva and decided to check it out. If it's children who are lost or orphaned, then she will gladly invite to live with her and the rest. She continues to follow the voices until she reached over a cliff and sees a lake.

The lake is breathtakingly beautiful. The water looks so fresh and clean that the bottom of the lake can be visibly seen. It sparkles so brightly when the sun beams at the flowing river. It seems so daring to go over the lake, but her survival instinct tells her to stay put.

Then she hears the voices that she heard earlier. She follows the voice and it leads her to two young boys standing by a lake.

There was a boy who was yelling at the sulken boy. He is light-skinned and has short spiky black hair that has a slight blue tint to it. His attire consists of a blue long sleeve shirt and white pants. He seems friendly, but the way he is yelling at the other boy, Ayame has another thought.

The kid that is sulking below the yelling boy has a bowl-cut hairstyle that hangs around his face. His attire consist of a dark kimono shirt, a short green jacket with darker green linings, a white scarf around his neck, traditional pinstriped kimono pants of his clan, and a dark green sash around his waist. With all that design, Ayame wonders if he is rich or a royalty. His skin is tanned, which is unusual for her because she only knew light skinned people.

Ayame continues to observe the boys from the high grounds. She can't help but find them rather adorable from the way they bicker and compete against each other. When the boy with a black spiky hair failed to skip a rock to the other side of the lake, he immediately begins to blame the boy with a bowl-cut hair for standing right behind him. Ayame accidentally burst into a giggle and covers her mouth in panic. She cursed herself for being so careless. Now the boys are alert and scanning for her.

'This isn't good…' Ayame thought to herself. 'They know I'm here…'

"Do you think it's a spy?" The boy with a bowl-hair asked.

"Maybe…" The boy with a spiky hair replied. "You can never be too sure."

Yes, this is the time to leave, so Ayame slowly steps behind to escape. As she takes another step back, she trips over a slippery mud and begins to fall. She tries to grab on to something to hold on to prevent her from falling, but she was not fast enough. She screams as she falls from the cliff, but someone catches her and saves her from a deep fall. Her eyes were shut tight, so she doesn't know who saved her.

"Oy, you can open your eyes. You're safe now." The familiar voice said.

Ayame slowly opens one of her eyes to see her savior. To her surprise, it is the boy with the spiky hair. His dark onyx eyes are gently staring into her chocolate eyes. None of them has said anything, but keeps staring into each other's eyes.

Finally the boy with spiky hair breaks the silence. "You're very stupid for standing over a cliff. Especially when it is muddy.

Ayame frowns and huffs from his remark. "Just who are you calling stupid?"  
>She huffs again as she puts herself down. "I was just looking for food, that's all."<p>

The boy with the spiky hair smirked. "You must be pretty stupid to look for food over the edge of a cliff. You're pretty useless, no doubt. You should leave the food hunting to men who are craftier and swifter, like me."

"Like you?! Says the guy who can't even skip a rock across a lake!"

"What was that?!" The boy growled.

"You heard me, pineapple head!"

"Why you little-!"

"Hey now, come on! Let's not fight!" The boy with the bowl hair said as he rushes over. He looks at Ayame and smiles. "Hi there, my name is Hashirama. I can't tell you my last name due to safety reasons."

Ayame relaxes from the dispute with the other boy and nods. "Pleased to meet you, my name is Ayame."

The boy named Hashirama looks at the boy with the spiky hair and frowned. "You should apologize to her."

The spiky hair boy's eyes widen. "For what?! She's the one who should apologize to me! I saved her ass from a big fall! She should be thanking me!"

"I heard you call her stupid." Hashirama said with a huff.

"She is stupid! I mean what kind of a person would find food at the edge of a muddy cliff?" He narrows his eyes at Ayame. "And she made fun of my skills at skipping rocks!"

"Well to be fair…you do stink at it." Hashirama grinned goofily.

"Shut up! Who told you to butt in anyway, huh?! I told you that I can't stand it when someone stands behind me!" The boy flared out in frustration.

Ayame breathes out and looks down. She does feel guilty for teasing him. After all, he did just save her life. She looks at the spiky hair boy and smiles. "You're absolutely right. I'm sorry for making fun of you, and I truly thank you for saving me." She bows respectfully at the boy.

That took the spiky hair boy by surprise. He didn't expect an obnoxious girl like that suddenly change into something sweet. Normally the girls that he knew were either arrogant or boastful. Those are the type of girls that would flirt with him and he would avoid them, not wanting to have to wash blood off his hands. He wanted nothing to do with those girls. But this one…the one who calls herself Ayame is a bit unusual to him, and at the same time it is rather nice. Something about that smile of hers makes his heart beat a little faster and louder. He finally clears his throat and glance away as he tries to hide his blush. "Uh…it's fine. Just…agh! Just be careful next time!"

Ayame giggles at his sudden change of attitude. He is actually rather cute. Then it is her turn to blush at the realization that she thinks he is cute. To be honest, she thought he is cute when she first glances at his eyes. Now they are both blushing.

"W-what's going on with you?!" The spiky hair boy asked nervously. "Are you sick or something?!"

Ayame waved her hand defensively. "No no no! I'm fine really!"

The spiky hair boy breathes out in relief. "Good. Just be careful from now on, alright?" He smiles at her.

Ayame's heart thumped loudly when he smiled at her. 'So cute…' she thought to herself. She clears her throat to change the topic. "Well, uh…what's your name? You haven't told me yours."

"Madara." He replied. "Like Hashirama said, I can't tell you my last name due to safety reason."

Ayame nodded and stares at both of them. "It's really nice to meet both of you. Are you guys lost or lost your parents from war?"

The two boys look at each other in confusion and looks back at Ayame.

"Uh…I'm just here to skip rocks. I'm not lost or orphaned." Madara replied.

"Yeah, same here. Why do you ask?" Hashirama asked.

Ayame thought whether she should tell them about the orphanage or not, now that she finds out that they are not orphaned. Even though the boys seem nice, she can never be too sure. She decides that it is best to keep that a secret for now.

"Eh…no reason at all. It's just that I've been hearing that children who are either lost or orphaned wonder around here." She replied.

"So…are you one of them?" Hashirama asked.

My goodness, they sure know to ask a question. Luckily she knows what to answer. "Well no, I'm not. But I can't tell you all the details. You guys understand, right?"

"Absolutely. It's for safety reasons, is it not?" Madara asked.

Ayame smiles some more and nods approvingly. "That's right. For safety reasons."

Madara smirks at her. "You should be extra careful though, scary people roam around the forest to catch pretty little girls like you."

"…you think I'm pretty?" Ayame asked as she giggled.

"W-what?!" Madara's cheek turns beet red. "I-I don't know what you are talking about!"

Ayame continues to laugh, but he is right about the strangers. There have been more and more shinobies appearing in the forest.

"I swear!" Madara huffs. "You are completely stra-" he pause as he and Hashirama notice a dead body floating on the lake. Ayame gasp at such a site. It brought her back the memory of her tragic past. She holds her head tightly as she tries to erase her memory of her running through corpses. As she was about to scream, she feels someone holding her gently but tightly. Her eyes glance up to see Madara giving her a comforting stare.

"Don't look." He said sternly.

Ayame said nothing but nod at his command.

"There's going to be a battle here soon." They heard Hashirama say as he stands over the corpse. "We should go home guys."

Madara nods in agreement. "Agreed." Then he looks back at Ayame. "You go on home too, okay?"

She automatically nods again.

Then the three of them head off home on their separate ways. Ayame glance at the two shinobi boys walking home. She especially keeps a good eye on Madara. Something about him made her feel attracted to him. Maybe it's because the way he looks at her? Could it be that it's his arrogant personality? Either way, she hopes that she will see Madara again.

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><p>It's been several days since Ayame met the two shinobi boys. She couldn't keep her mind off the boy, Madara. She can't stop thinking of his deep onyx eyes. However, her train of thoughts had the orphan children curious of her. She was acting a bit strange, even Sota was beginning to worry about Ayame.<p>

Sota approaches to Ayame as she cooks lunch. "Uh…Ayame?"

"Hm?" She replied.

"Are you feeling alright?"

Ayame give Sota a confused look, as if he said something wrong. "Of course I'm alright. Why do you ask, Sota?"

"It's just that you've been acting…not quite yourself."

"Oh yeah?" She eyes him even more curiously.

He nods. "You seem to be day dreaming often. What exactly happened a few days ago?"

Ayame sighs tiredly. "I already told you. I went to grab food, I thought I heard wild bird, I followed, I lost it, and came back home. That's it."

Sota's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you talk as if you want to change the subject?"

"And why do you talk as if I'm a criminal?!"

She doesn't mind Sota being curious, but sometimes he asks too many questions for her own taste. The last time this happened, it did not end well between them. They would stop talking to each other for days. Either her or Sota would go to one another and apologize. This time, however, she is not letting this happen.

"I don't mean to, but you're being way too secretive."

"What secret could I possibly have? You know that I don't hold secret from you guys."

"Funny you mention that…" Sota said suspiciously.

Now it's Ayame who narrows her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Right after you left, I heard noises that came from bushes. I got worried about you and decided to rush after you. I couldn't find you, but I kept hearing noises. It sounded like boys were around the lake. So you mean to tell me that you never noticed anyone in the forest? Because I sure have." He replied as he stares coldly in her eyes.

Ayame looks down in shame as she knew that she is caught in her lie. "Alright, I did notice the voices. I even went to check up on it."

"…why did you lie to us?" Sota frowned sadly. "I thought you trust us."

"It's not that I don't trust you guys. I'm just doing this as a precaution. I was going to tell you guys as soon as I get more info about the two boys. I'm sorry that it sounded that I don't trust you guys. I'm just…being careful." Ayame confessed.

Sota chuckles lightly. "Ayame, why didn't you tell me that? I would've understood. I'm not a kid you know."

"You're right. I guess I keep forgetting how old you are. I'm sorry Sota."

He grins happily. "Apology accepted. Although…I'd fully accept your apology if you give me a kiss."

"Aha…nice try Sota."

"I had to try."

After a moment of laughter, comes to a moment of awkward silence. Ayame finishes making lunch and places it on the table. Sota finally breaks the silence. "Hey Ayame…do you sometimes think about love?"

That question took Ayame by surprise again. Sota was never the romantic type, let alone bring up the subject such as love. She carefully looks at Sota again, and once again, he is serious. "What makes you ask that, Sota? That's not like you."

He shrugs casually. "I honestly don't know. It just came to me recently. I don't know!"

"It seems I'm not the only one who is acting strange." Ayame giggled.

"Shut up, Ayame!" He growls in embarrassment. "L-lunch is ready right? I'll get the others."

"You guys go on ahead and eat. I'm not really hungry. I'm gonna go and look for more fruits. We need something to drink after all."

"While you're at it, how about going into a village and steal some good? The kids are getting a bit restless about eating berries all the time for the past month." Sota said. "Hell, even I'm getting tired of eating berries all the time. So…how about it, Ayame?"

Ayame groans in annoyance. "I'll try, but I won't promise anything Sota. The war is getting bad, and I feel bad that I steal things from farmers who work real hard to grow some crops. And what if I get caught? Who will feed you guys then? You guys really need to start appreciating what you guys can eat, because luck may run out for me."

Sota looks down shamefully. He knows Ayame works hard to feed five hungry orphans. The youngest one is a four year old girl who is very skinny for her age. Ayame has been the provider and the protector of them.

"I'm sorry Ayame. Just do whatever you can to bring something. Anything works fine with me, and I'm sure the rest will appreciate it as well." Sota smiles reassuringly.

Ayame returns the smile and nods. "Thank you Sota, I really appreciate it."

"Hey, no sweat. Now get going. I'll watch over them."

Ayame nods and leaves to some berries, and if luck is on her side today, get something else rather than berries. But somewhere in her heart, she hopes to see Madara again.

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><p>The forest is peacefully quiet as usual. Strange things rarely happen in this nick of the wood. Slightly disappointed, she turns to head to a village until she hears the familiar voices that she was hoping to hear. Ayame runs to the voices and she happily sees the two boys that she met few days ago. Her heart leaps in joy, but something just does not feel right. The atmosphere seems…sad. Hashirama sits near the lake, looking rather gloomy than he usually does. Ayame takes a closer look and notice that Hashirama is crying, and by the looks of it Madara is trying to consult him. Her motherly instinct takes over and joins in.<p>

"Hey…what's the matter, Hashirama?" Ayame asked softly.

The boys look glumly at Ayame for a moment, and then Hashirama gives her a weak smile. "Hey Ayame. Good to see you again. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Liar." Ayame said plainly.

"But I am fine, really." Hashirama said, trying to convince.

Ayame knows all too well when someone is lying. Especially when someone is trying hard not to cry. It's nothing new considering that she is practically taking care of the orphans. She considers them family after all.

"Hashirama, your eyes are blood shot red and it looks like you were wiping away your tears. Now tell me what's wrong, I promise I'll listen." Ayame said as she places her hands on his shoulders.

Madara rubs his head and mumbles. "I already told him that…"

Hashirama sighs in defeat and glance back at the lake. "…my younger brother died."

That struck both Madara and Ayame. They know what it is like to lose your loved ones. Ayame quickly bends over and hugs Hashirama tightly. "Oh Hashirama, I'm so sorry!"

Hashirama gently, but tightly, hugs her back. "Thank you. Your empathy means a lot to me…it shows me that there is hope for humanity."

Madara watches the two of them with a tint of envy, but he quickly shakes the thought and picks a rock to skip it across the lake. "There is still hope for peace, if that is what you are talking about."

Those words caught Ayame and Hashirama's attention. It's as if a glimmer of hope just beamed through the darkness.

"But that's if enemies are willing to show each other's guts." Madara said as he skips the rock across the lake. "In reality, they could be mad as hell."

"Isn't it possible…" Hashirama said. "To show how you feel without showing each other's guts?"

Ayame listens carefully to the boys. They are talking about something that she thought that it's nonexistent. To make things interesting, they are just two boys are about her age. Yet they are talking about showing guts to bring peace.

"I don't know…but every time I come here, I pray for some way to make it happen." Madara watch as he sees his rock miraculously skips all the way to the other side of the lake. "I finally got it to go on the right direction. You're not the only one…me too…it reached."

Ayame is starting to understand why she is falling for Madara. His deep understanding for life is so knowledgeable beyond his years. He is so passionate about peace that it makes her heart beat louder and louder for him. She is convinced that no matter how much she denies, she is deeply in love with Madara.

Hashirama is starting to believe that he has found someone who has the same wish as he does. He too desire for this senseless war to end. Maybe shock isn't the right word…to him, Madara is a gift from the divine. Maybe…just maybe there is still hope for peace.

Madara stares at the two and smirks. "In both of your cases…I can tell without looking into your insides that…" he snickers.

"What?" Hashirama asked curiously.

"Tell us." Ayame said along.

Madara glance at Hashirama. "Well, your hairdo and outfit are totally lame!" Then he glances at Ayame. "And your attitude and ability to hunt food is completely idiotic."

Hashirama sulks from his opinion as Ayame's eyes twitch in annoyance.

"Huh…say that again, pineapple head?!"

Madara snarls at her. "I dare you to call me that again, little girl!"

Then Hashirama stands between them. "Easy guys, easy!"

After a moment of a stare-off, they both sigh and begin to laugh immediately. It's like they have forgotten about their dispute.

"Hey, you know what? We should meet up here every often!" Hashirama said excitedly, which made Madara and Ayame stare at him in disbelief.

"…isn't that a bit dangerous, Hashirama?" Ayame asked.

Hashirama grinned. "Well, who's to say anybody has to know? The three of us can secretly meet right here. Here we can train without anyone noticing. It's perfect!"

Ayame isn't sure if she should go through it. She can't leave the orphans on their own. What if something happens to them and she is not there to help them? She swore that she will protect them no matter what. She doesn't mind seeing the two shinobi boys… but priorities are priorities.

Madara, on the other hand, thinks it is a great idea. If they can train more and learn more jutsus more often, then they will be strong enough for their clans to listen to them. No more will they be ignored by grown-ups. In the case of Ayame, he will never admit it, but he wants to continue to see her. He tries to hide his blush every time he thinks of Ayame.

"Well, what do you guys think?" Hashirama asked with glee.

Now it is time to tell the boys the truth about her and the orphan kids. "Look guys, I would love to, but here's the truth…"

The shinobi boys look at Ayame.

"What's up Ayame? You can tell us." Hashirama said as Madara nodded.

"Before I tell you the truth, you must promise me that you won't tell anyone at all."

"I promise." Madara and Hashirama said at the same time.

Ayame takes a long breath and begins to speak. "I live in a house with a bunch of orphans, and I take care of them. So, I can't hang out everyday."

Hashirama smiles warmly at her. "I understand. I'm glad that you are taking care of them. Most adults would just send them off to war."

"That's just terrible!" Ayame gasped.

"Well, that's how war is, Ayame." Madara said. "No one is going to listen to weak little pups."

Hashirama nods. "He's right, but anyway, we don't have to meet here everyday. We can meet here every two days! So that way, no one will suspect anything."

"Well…since you put it that way, I'm in as well!" Ayame grinned.

"Then it's settled!" Hashirama grins as well. "We will meet here every other two days and train!"

"Alright!" Both Ayame and Madara said at the same time, which it made them look at each other and laugh a bit happily.

Since that day, the three children meet and train to become stronger, so that one day they can end the war and no more children would have to die in it. Their friendship grows more and more as they meet to train. They even push each other to overcome their weakness. It seems…that their dream is going to come true as long as they keep working hard.

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><p><strong>Author: So that's it guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I thought loooong and hard for this chapter. I think Ayame and Madara are developing an interesting relationship, don't you agree? X3 Anyway, please read and review! If there are any mistakes that I made, feel free to correct me. Otherwise, tell me what you think about the chapter! ^^ See ya guys soon!~<strong>


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